Ok here's the deal...When my brother tells King to do something (besides "Sit" "Stay" "Down" and such) like King knows "Go to ur crate" "Go to bed" "Go to the couch" "Go to mommy/daddy" so if my bro tells him to do either one of the commands he has to repeat the command 3 or more times, but if me or my mom tells him he does it on the 1st command...Any1 know y is that??? could it be that me and my mom r kinda like the alpha and he listens to us, but my bro is lower in command and he thinks less of him....its nothing major just kinda curious cuz this has been goin on 4 a while... Ok like rit now my bro told him to go on the couch like 6 times and he still didnt do it...i said it once he did it without hesitating... :lol:

30th June 2006, 11:40 AM

TKC

Quote:

could it be that me and my mom r kinda like the alpha and he listens to us, but my bro is lower in command and he thinks less of him

NO! Forget that Alpha and 'thinking less of him' theory for now - This is a dog we are talking about not some calculating secret spy who has weighed up the value of each human in the home ;) I mean that in the nicest possibly way :flwr: That kind of thinking will only stunt your progress with him and cause blockage in the communication between your family and King.

You need to simply take a look at your CUE's. What is a CUE?

Verbal Cue - A Word/Command e.g 'SIT' meaning take up the SIT position
Visual Cue - A hand signal or body gesture e.g Hand held high with palm facing out meaning STAY
Scent Cue - We won't go there in order to keep it simple
[size=2](You decide on your verbal and visual cue's when you start to train. Then you attach the cue to the behaviour or exercise. Many times we attach the WRONG cue to a behaviour. Writing these down is a good idea)[/size]

I know King does SIT etc but I am using this as an example. Just replace Sit with the behaviour or exercise that King is not responding to.

Check your Cue.
Is your dog responding to the word sit or your body signal for sit?
If you think you don't have a body signal for sit then check again!

TEST:
1. Walk up to your dog and ask him to sit in the normal way using a verbal cue (note the result) - Are you also bending forward, moving your hand, head, eyes in a certain way? If so that could be your visual cue.
2. Now walk up to your dog and ask him to sit IN YOUR HEAD as in don't say it out loud. What happens?

If he sat on both 1 and 2 now try this
Walk up to your dog and ask him to sit while you put both hands above your head and bend sideways. If he stands there looking at you and doesn't sit straight off then he is being cue'd from your body signal and this is why he can't understand your brothers word to SIT because your brothers visual cue is different to yours.

Observe
Ask a friend or family member to write down what body movement you are making when you ask for a sit. When you get a successful sit then that body cue is the cue to sit for King.

Now ask your brother to perform that same body language cue for sit.

Attaching the Cue
It is a good idea to have your dog sitting on a verbal cue rather than a visual cue for the simple reason that if you are carrying something you need to be able to use your voice.

So to let the lovely King know that the word/sound 'SIT' means touch your bum on the ground you must reattach the verbal cue/command 'SIT'. Your brother can practise this.

To do this:
1. Say the word 'SIT' while standing in a neutral position - upright (don't give your visual sit cue)
2. Count to 3
3. Now give your visual cue (King sits)
4. Move so that King comes out of the sit.
5. Say the word 'SIT' while standing in a neutral position - upright (don't give your visual sit cue)
6. Count to 5
7. Now give your visual cue (King sits)
8. Move so that King comes out of the sit.
9. Say the word 'SIT' while standing in a neutral position - upright (don't give your visual sit cue)
10. Count to 7
11. Now give your visual cue (King sits)

Finally say the word SIT in a neutral standing position
SAY NOTHING FURTHER
Wait and King will SIT
Reward
(King may cop this sooner than by step 11)

Now generalise the cue 'SIT'. Do this by repeating several times while slightly varying your body position so that it is the WORD sit that is consistent and King will then understand what it means when asked by anyone in the home.

You need to do this with all exercises.

Try not to revert to the 'Pack' and dominance theories when training or trying to figure out why your dog isn't doing something. Remember it is not about getting your dog to do something, it is about getting your dog to WANT to do something. Their lives are simply. They place values on resources, the learn behaviours, when rewarded for behaviours they repeat them, when not rewarded the discard them.

Hope this helps.

30th June 2006, 04:01 PM

GudrunTheRed

Tara,

Wonderful instructions. I'm going to print it out for a friend of mine who's Cavalier just won't lay down on command. I'm also going to use your tips to teach my Chester the "paw" command. I soooo want him to be able to do a cute little paw shake for my friends when they come in the house!

30th June 2006, 05:05 PM

Kingofthehouse86

Tara, thanks we'll give this a try over the weekend..yea and i too wanna teach King the "paw" command...im trying but sometimes he gets it and sometimes he doesn't

3rd July 2006, 03:37 PM

TKC

You're welcome.

A good thing to remember if your dog doesn't follow a lure into a position is to check they are comfortable. If they have sore joints etc and feel pain when they are in a certain position then check that out first.

Also set your dog up so that he/she can get it right. Don't have a lot of distractions at first simply add these in as you go along. In other words don't ask for a STAY while 20 deer pass by in the distance if you have a dog that chases!

Hollar if anymore info is needed

4th July 2006, 12:30 AM

Kingofthehouse86

Tara we tried everything u suggested and it worked...King responds to any1 in the household...thnx for the advice